Monday, October 6, 2014

For They Have Sown the Wind by Alessandro Perissinotto

Back Cover Blurb

Giacomo Musso, a
thirty-five-year-old teacher, is led by love, or perhaps by chance, to
incarceration in the maximum-security wing of the Novara penitentiary. He
protests his innocence while holding the newspaper with a photo of the
mutilated corpse of his wife. Out of desperation, Giacomo decides to tell the
story of his life—that is, the series of events that inevitably led him to this
cell. Their marriage was not a red-hot love affair, but rather something that
grew slowly and steadily—a love meant to last. He and his wife, Shirin, decided
to move back to Molini, the town in the Piedmontese mountains where Giacomo was
born, when he grew homesick. Shirin wanted to move to Molini because she needed
the security of Giacomo’s roots after escaping from Iran. But even in Molini,
she remained a foreigner, treated first with intrusive curiosity and then with
mistrust. This nonbeliever, this atheist made the mistake of turning to the
elaborate religiosity of her compatriots. Now nothing is left of her or of
their love, except for the memories Giacomo writes down in his diary in the
hope that perhaps he can create a better ending to the story.

Giacomo Musso has been charged and imprisoned for the death
of his wife, Shirin. Through flashbacks brought about by memories stirred when
he reviews personal photographs at the request of his defense lawyer, a
poignant, gripping story gradually unfolds. Giacomo’s narration describes the passionate
love story between him and his wife, from their lives in France, to the start
of their new life in the village of Molini in Italy. Slowly, page by page, the
tale of this couple’s lives takes us to its pinnacle, and then to its slow
deterioration, and final its shocking ending.

This is very much a novel of cultural differences, about the
need to fit in, and the never ending quest for fulfillment. It is about love
found and love lost, and how social circumstances can forever alter our lives.
The story gives us insight into a woman’s dissimilation from her Iranian culture
as she tries to assimilate into French and Italian society. But when they move
to Molino, her initial joy at living there turns ugly when a small school
conflict and prejudice gradually snowballs into life-changing events that will
forever alter Giacomo and Shirin’s lives.

This novel is wonderfully rich and engaging, filled with
characters so real, I felt I could reach out and touch them. Mesmerized with
each twist, I could not put this book down and read it in two sittings. The
ending is one that will shock, that readers will never see coming. It is a
story about the rise and fall of love, and a definite statement about how the
entire world is impacted by the current Middle Eastern conflicts. A very
powerful book and definitely most highly recommended.

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